Courtesy Computer?

[bolharr2250]

So I was just thinking, what do you guys think about providing a courtesy computer for customers who need a computer while you are fixing theirs? A lower grade laptop or something they can use while you repair their machine.

Could be an added service, or charge a rental fee. I understand the risk of handing a perfectly good computer to some random customer, so know that this is hypothetical. Perhaps if you knew the value of the computer you had (and if it was greater than the value of the courtesy laptop), or had them pay a safety deposit, this could be safer for you along with the proper legal documents.

What do you think? I know you could also provide rush service, but I was just wondering what everyone here thought about the idea, or if they have ever tried anything like it before.

 

[BlackLabTechs]

Never tried but I can see the hassle of them calling when they can't get certain email service to work, can't access their docs, etc. Most people have multiple devices these days so I think it would be more of a hassle than a benefit. Just my 2 pennies.

 

[bolharr2250]

Never tried but I can see the hassle of them calling when they can't get certain email service to work, can't access their docs, etc. Most people have multiple devices these days so I think it would be more of a hassle than a benefit. Just my 2 pennies.

Thats definitely a foreseeable problem. Most of my clients (so far) do a lot of stuff in the cloud, so I didn't think of that. The multiple devices part is true for most people, but for those who don't having a computer in the repair shop can be quite inconvenient (just like having your car in the shop)

 

[Digital Micro]

You also have to look at the legal issues that could come up. What if your customer has their identity stolen? They was using your loaner PC they gave back. They might think you did it. It can happen. Even if you get off as far as legal issues go the customer is going to tell everyone you stole here information.

 

[bolharr2250]

You also have to look at the legal issues that could come up. What if your customer has their identity stolen? They was using your loaner PC they gave back. They might think you did it. It can happen. Even if you get off as far as legal issues go the customer is going to tell everyone you stole here information.

Good point! Thats probably why you would want sufficient legal documents, but still the bad PR you could get could be bad for business. Also, if its someone who is getting a virus clean, you probably don't want them using a device any way connected to you in the first place (unless you just wiped the entire computer each time it was used, which seems like too much effort)

 

[OaksLabs]

Depending on where you are and your clients, the loaner PC you give out might be better than their PC, and you might have theft issues (although this seems like a GREAT way to make the sales push for a nice refurbished PC -- fix their current one, give them one off the shelf, and then offer to give them trade in value towards that nice snappy PC that they've fallen in live with....).

In regards to wiping the PC each time, an image makes this process do-able in under an hour.

 

[PBComputer]

I don't do it, But know local firms who do. they seem to charge a £10 fee for the system. and each time the system goes back in they re-apply their image. so each client has a clean laptop. If people are willing to pay for the extra service why not. But I can see problems with it. The HDD fails with them. The dc jack break. the screen is smashed. they lose the system?? all things which need to be thought about.

But it could be a good up sell of a tablet or other device. or you could let them buy that device from you.

 

[TCG]

I give out loaners especially to my Mac clients, but those are easy to deal with. The PC's are a little more difficult, but doable. I don't charge anything for the loaner itself, but I do charge to set it up for their needs, once I get it back I N&P it. Again, it's not often that my clients accept my loaner offer, but they do appreciate the offer.

 

[bolharr2250]

Depending on where you are and your clients, the loaner PC you give out might be better than their PC, and you might have theft issues (although this seems like a GREAT way to make the sales push for a nice refurbished PC -- fix their current one, give them one off the shelf, and then offer to give them trade in value towards that nice snappy PC that they've fallen in live with....).

In regards to wiping the PC each time, an image makes this process do-able in under an hour.

Your spot on with that sales push Idea. I've borrowed computers from people before and had that urge to simply ditch my old dinky machine. The trade in value is also excellent, especially if you can turn the dinky one around, and continue the cycle.

I don't do it, But know local firms who do. they seem to charge a £10 fee for the system. and each time the system goes back in they re-apply their image. so each client has a clean laptop. If people are willing to pay for the extra service why not. But I can see problems with it. The HDD fails with them. The dc jack break. the screen is smashed. they lose the system?? all things which need to be thought about.

But it could be a good up sell of a tablet or other device. or you could let them buy that device from you.

I think a safety deposit and a legal agreement to pay for any damages to the device (your repair fees of course) would solve those problems.

 

[MichaelBits]

We've been doing that for awhile.
We have a "loaner" PC we allow clients to use in certain situations where they can't be without one.

As for some of the concerns listed...
It's an older Laptop, but still runs well. So most clients PC's are better.
We also generally only loan out to those clients we've done business with long enough to trust them to some extant.

We don't actually advertise this option, but offer it to good clients if they need it.

 

[JoeTech]

I have always found this to be more hassle then it is worth. We tried with one laptop and quit after wasting too much time setting it up for them and then answering follow-up questions. Plus since it is a loaner, nobody really cares to take care of it and took a lot of abuse. We now only do it in emergency situations for business customers.

 

[Krynn72]

I'd say if you're going to do it, only do it in emergency situations, make it a rental, not a loaner, and make a good legal agreement. Charge them like $50 up front, and then an additional $50 every week beyond completion of their repair until the laptop is paid off in full. You'd need their CC number for this. It should work like the "Redbox" movie rentals where if you're super late in returning it, then you just end up buying it. Hopefully the scare of that, combined and phone calls each week right before you're about to hit them with another fee, makes it so that never happens.

 

[katz]

I'm a mobile tech, so I have a feel for how people treat things in their homes, and their own pc's.

I have loaned out laptops on occasion, at no charge to certain clients who I know will not trash them. Most of my clients are mainly checking email/facebook, playing angry birds online, etc., so they can't get messed up too badly, I figure. If I had a storefront with people walking in off of the street that I did not know, I don't believe I would be too anxious to loan out a pc that might get dropped/ trashed or maybe not ever make it back to the store.

...on second thought, if I operated a store, I might be inclined to make a few bucks rental off a loaner laptop.

 

[TechLady]

I do this all the time, I hand out either a netbook (usually running Linux of some variety) or a Chromebook. I don't charge for this and it adds quite a bit of trust and goodwill to the whole experience. I'm in a smallish community however...I'm pretty sure if I tried this down in SoCal where I'm from I'd get robbed blind.

 

[Markverhyden]

Technically, from a M$ EULA perspective, charging for a loaner is not allowed. Personally I've done a few loaners, all at no charge. Just make sure I'm charging enough to cover the risk. Like others I'm selective about who I do this with. Basically long standing business customers.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

We've loaned a computer at least a couple of times way back...but honestly...you spend half the day setting up the loaner for them. Could have maybe fixed their computer by then.
And then taking the time to reimage when they give it back, cuz I don't want to trust what's on there or be liable for their info to be available to the next user. And open up the possibility of, if they had some account of theirs hacked, figuring you cracked some login they had for their bank account or whatever...
...so, yeah I don't want to own that liability...so we really don't anymore.

 

[Ktex]

I recently loaned one for a student that had his laptop die during homework. He had Autocad 2015, back-upped files on external drive. I just installed the 30-day trial on mine, it has been returned now. And yes, he offered to buy mine, seems the old clunker (win 7 era) was more reliable than his year-, year and a half- old dead Walmart special. Ended up buying a new computer....from Walmart again...

 

[CheddarPCsKP]

We do loan machines; we've got three identical RM laptops with Vista Business. RAM's been upgraded to 3Gb each so they're useable if not fast. We set up an image with what customers need - OOo, Chrome, etc., and saved the image onto an external disk. When a customer brings a loner back we just go over it with an antiseptic wipe, swap the hard drives, image the fresh drive, and add the old one to the datawipe pile. Job done in under 15 minutes.

We take a small deposit with each loan laptop; touch wood we've not had a single problem so far. We opnly do a loan if requestede, so not every customer gets one, probably one or two a week at most. The customers who do take a loan are appreciative and it generates goodwill.

 

[PCX]

We do our all the time. Most good computers we get we either sell or user in the shop, but bands like Acer and Gateway we reserve as loaners for customers. We rarely have any complaints other than the computers being a little slow and we have only had one computer that I know of go missing. It's one of those things that can sometimes save a deal and we usually only offer it if that is the case.

 

[bolharr2250]

We do loan machines; we've got three identical RM laptops with Vista Business. RAM's been upgraded to 3Gb each so they're useable if not fast. We set up an image with what customers need - OOo, Chrome, etc., and saved the image onto an external disk. When a customer brings a loner back we just go over it with an antiseptic wipe, swap the hard drives, image the fresh drive, and add the old one to the datawipe pile. Job done in under 15 minutes.

We take a small deposit with each loan laptop; touch wood we've not had a single problem so far. We opnly do a loan if requestede, so not every customer gets one, probably one or two a week at most. The customers who do take a loan are appreciative and it generates goodwill.

Vista? How do you sleep at night!

I can be honest and say I have never owned a Vista machine, but I have heard the tale of other techs.